Thursday, December 22, 2011

personality from the womb?





is it possible for a child
to show their personality
from the womb?
my answer: yes!
since we've gotten to 'see' our little one
every two weeks 
we've seen some of her habits
and so have the docs
which thankfully they just laugh
today 
for instance
when trying to get a heart beat 
lower than 170
she wouldn't cooperate
she kept kicking the wand
which we could hear
and moving about
and when she's moving 
her heartbeat stays at 170
after about 10 minutes
she finally calmed down for about a minute
and we got a "good"
heartbeat
but you guessed it
she kicked the wand again and started moving
the doc just laughed and said
"she's going to be an athlete"
*
when it comes to our dogs
she's already made her choice
when maik lays his head on my belly
as he is doing so here
she kicks till he moves
when admiral leans on my belly
or puts his head on it
or spoons with it
she is calm
no kicking at all!
*
she pushes her hand in front of ultrasound wands
she moves all the time
to the point the docs say
"oh i remember this baby" 
when they try do an ultrasound
but 
despite all these quirks
that we've started to notice
she is ours!
and she is healthy
and happy
and 
measuring bigger 
14 days!!!
than she should be
which is excellent due to my condition
we are no longer on 2 week checks at the ob!!
but will be seen every 4 from radiology 
to make sure she has room to grow
and
are considered "normal" for now!!!!
*
i hope she is as feisty in my arms
as she is in the womb
i hope she leaves a blazing trail
and 
people know when she's coming
and when she's been there
she's spunky
and strong
and for our little girl
i couldn't ask for better qualities!
24 weeks measuring 26!

merry christmas!
from all of us
including the spunky one in the womb!












Monday, December 5, 2011

admiral and maik meet baby

this weekend
some friends
graciously let us "borrow" 
their 13 month old
under their supervision of course
to determine how our four legged kiddos
would do with a child
they have never been introduced to one before!
maik's reaction
was priceless
i really wish i would have had my camera ready
maik and baby met at a corner
maik stopped stared at baby
eyes big
baby stopped and stared at maik
eyes big
maik hid behind me
baby found mom
then maik
retreated to his crate for the rest of the night
*
admiral on the other hand loved every minute of baby time
if baby would cry
admiral was there licking him till he either stopped crying
or cried some more
admiral even shared his bone!
and allowed all "petting" from baby

but my favorite pic of all
 is this one

watching admiral and baby
makes me even more excited for our little one 
to meet our four legged kiddos 
and for them
to meet her!

a huge thank you to our friends
who so graciously let us "borrow" 
their son!


smooth sailing so far!!

so about two months ago
give or take a month
i posted 
about
and 
promised 
to be a good support for others like
me
well
i failed!
i didn't mean to....
i can provide you with a list of excuses
1) internet in italy sucks 
2) i've been busy
3) i went stateside for almost a month
wait this one negates the number one
and the bad internet
but honestly
there is no excuse
i have been so fortunate
that even though i'm 
"high risk"
this pregnancy has been so smooth
i'm going every two weeks for ultrasounds
and every time
we get excellent news
we've watched our little one grow 
thanks to the many ultrasounds
so thank you for the continued support
and prayers
it is because of the prayers
that this has been easier than expected
we did find out
that 
we are having a girl!
she is already adorable!!!

she is a mover and a shaker
she is measuring quite large for her age
and 
i've been feeling her move 
since sixteen weeks!!!

we are so blessed 
to have the support, love, and prayers 
from friends and family!
thank you all!!

Friday, September 16, 2011

knock you butt(er) naked brownies!

i have made
courtesy of pioneer woman
many times
and trust me they are delicious!
but tonight
after making them
and having some left over ingredients
and some other ingredients
i decided to be creative
without further adieu 
i present you
"knock you butt(er) naked brownies"
let me explain the butter
i used 
reese peanut butter pieces
in lieu of chocolate chips
pretty creative huh?!?
another change i made:
i used duncan hines
triple chocolate fudge
and 
added 
hershey's chocolate syrup
i'm not craving chocolate or anything!
the steps are exactly like pw's recipe
so
you will need 
1/2 cup of melted butter
evaporated milk
cake mix
be creative here folks!
then i added just a drizzle of chocolate syrup
mix it all together
put half the batter
in a 9x9 greased pan
pop it in the oven at 350 for 8-10 minutes
while that's cooking
take your caramels
unwrapped of course!
add it to 1/2 cup of evaporated milk
and melt
in a double boiler
once melted pour over your 
half of batter baked mixture
sprinkle your reese's pieces
we just bought halloween candy 
so i used that 
it's not stealing from kids
it's being resourceful!
then add the other half of the batter on top
pop it back in the oven
for 20-25 minutes
let cool
then 
sprinkle with powdered sugar!
then 
enjoy
your
knock you butt(er) naked brownies!



























Thursday, September 8, 2011

i have a what?!?

i've been wanting to post 
for a long time
but 
my sister was here
then we went back to school
and 
i only had one thing 
i really wanted to post about
and 
i told my husband i would wait...
but it was soooo hard
rewind to august 4
by persuasion from kenneth
i bought a box
peed on a stick
and saw

then 
kenneth bought me these
notice they are non gender specific?
then the doctor 
gave me this 
along with the news
that 
i might be high risk
excuse me?!?
can't you just call me special?
so
after crying 
for days
and thinking
what was wrong with me
i got more of
 these


and after waiting
what seemed like forever
i found out
that i have a 
or 
possibly 
a
they aren't quite sure because 
my uterus has already started to expand
because i got a baby in there!!!!
both conditions happen in only 20-33% of women
and what it means
is my uterus is split
tmi?
well stop reading
i'm trying to be honest and real
and
provide support for those who went through
or may be going through
the anxiety driven weeks i've been through
what does this mean for the baby?
it means
i am at a slightly higher risk to deliver preterm
(before 37 weeks)
i more than likely will have a c-section
due to a breech or transverse baby
and
i will get to see my doc
alot more than any pregnant woman would want to!
but i'm excited about more pictures and more chances to hear my babies heartbeat!
go ahead and dr. google the terms!
it will scare you to death
it did me
now
breathe
and 
try to remain positive
we are!
my baby has a strong heartbeat
fluid levels look great
and 
the doc said overall my pregnancy is looking 
good
now
as i always promise to do
and fail multiple times
i will post more
especially since i know i am not the only one who has this condition
i am not considering myself high risk
just
special
my favorite ultrasound shot 
because you see the heartbeat too!
keep us in your prayers 
and all my other pregnant friends out there!
that we will welcome 
a
healthy baby boy
or girl
not much earlier 
than 
april 9, 2011




 

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

strike one!

the chasemieseter has a birthday coming up
yay! i love birthdays!!!
and
he's been gone 
all summer
which means
i've missed him
a lot!
so when the captain 
started talking about his birthday
i was overly eager to help
i volunteered to make the cake
what!? am i crazy!? 
absence makes the heart grow founder
and 
the brain go stupider!
and needless to say
i volunteered to make this cake
a good friend referred me to this picture
and
to all the supplies i needed
i know
i'm crazy
but i figured 
why not!
so yesterday
i did a "practice cake"
and boy am i glad i did
first
i elected to go with
duncan hines yellow cake mix
its easy 
and 
its something i can't screw up
so here are my players
and yes there is a glass of wine
don't judge
i'm baking in italy!
to make this cake possible 
i've had to order 
alot from
amazon.com
like
Wilton Sports Ball Pan Set
this 3d mold
and
this fondant
Rolled Fondant, 2 Lb White, Buttercream Flavor
in green and blue
let me digress a bit
i've never worked with fondant
never
and 
frankly after last night 
i don't know if i ever will
but that my friends 
is another story
back to our story
i build my cake
just as the box says
and make another box
for the baseball mold
now the direction say grease the ball molds
until there is no metal shining through
i think i did this job well!
split the batter in between the two ball halves
and place in the oven
these take a long time to bake
about 20-30 minutes longer than the square pans
and 
the top will get brown
before the middle get done
don't worry!
you will be cutting the top off anyway
i found my butter cream frosting 
recipe
from 
and doesn't it look delicious!!!
the recipe called for 8 cups of powdered sugar
i did not have 8 cups
so i cut the recipe in half
big mistake!!
i did not have nearly enough icing
but like i said 
it was a practice cake
back to building the cake!!
once your square cakes are done 
and 
cooled 
this is key!!!
level them
with
 Wilton Cake Leveler

your cake leveler
this is a simple tool
but a must!!!
take your leveled cake
like so
and frost it
remember i said 
i didn't make enough icing
well notice in these pics....
once you've got one iced
put the other one on top of it
and ice away!
don't forget that baseball in the oven!
pull the halves out and let them cool
i repeat let them cool
this is what happens when you don't
 
see i told you!
thank goodness i only needed one half!
once it's cooled 
your are going to level the bottom of the ball
which was the top that was browned in the oven
place on top of the cake 
and ice away!
my cake looks rough!
i would NOT serve this at a kiddo's birthday
but 
what i learned from my practice cake is
1) i'm not going to use this much fondant. 
i will probably use graham crackers and butter cream on top
and make it look like a field
or just butter cream like picture
2) i will buy red icing.  i could not get the icing to turn red 
regardless of how much red food coloring i put in
3) did i mention i will make more icing
yep definitely need more
4) i will not start the cake at eight o'clock at night
and finally
less fondant!
it looks rough
it tasted good
but 
i have hope 
that in three weeks
i will not strike out
and 
the chasemiester will have a wonderful birthday!






Friday, July 29, 2011

time flies when your are having fun

i was leaving work
when kenneth called
and said,
"how do you feel about living in italy?"
it's hard to believe
that it's been a year
i was looking back at some of my old posts
and
so much has changed in this year
the obvious
i'm in italy
many friends have welcomed {new additions }
to their famileis
we've said goodbye to a {beloved pup }
we've met { new friends }
and
i've learned a lot about {myself
would i do italy all over again
yes
and i wouldn't change the headaches
the tears
the moments where i felt like i was going crazy
for anything
i've had many 'favorite posts'
over the year
which i've included
for your reading pleasure
happy year of blogging anniversary to me
thank you for reading
and
tolerating my moments of insanity
moments when i think i can cook
and
moments when i just feel
like babbling